Operating Systems Deployment

To best understand how Specops Deploy /OS operate, the four main components of Specops Deploy /OS will all be described in this chapter in their order of installation:

  • Image Server
  • Admin Tools
  • Deployment Server
  • Client computers

OS Deployment


Specops Deploy Image Server

The Image Server is the core component of the entire Specops Deploy /OS ecosystem; the Image Server contains the master copy of everything needed to deploy and install operating systems such as:

  • Operating System files
  • Captured Images
  • Drivers
  • Language Packs
  • Default Settings

All these components are stored in the Specops Deploy Deployment Repository on the Image Server and when the Administrator have imported all necessary files, set all configurations needed, the Deployment Repository can be Published. Publishing means that the all settings, operating system files and drivers needed to start the installation are being prepared and made available to be used to actually install computers.

Specops Deploy /OS is built on top of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 (MDT 2010), although no knowledge of MDT 2010 is needed to use Specops Deploy /OS, and the only computer where MDT 2010 need to be installed is on the Image Server.

On the Deployment Server a service called Specops Deploy Deployment Server is running, this service is the access point for the Admin Tools and if it is stopped, it is not possible to administer Specops Deploy /OS.

The Image Server must be installed on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

.Net Framework 3.5.1 is required on the Image Server.

Specops Deploy Deployment Server

The Deployment Server (DS) is the actual deployment point from where the computers are installed. The Deployment Server have a replica of the Published files on the Image Server, this means that it is possible to have pending changes on the Image Server that are not yet available to the Deployment Server if they have not yet been published.

Besides the Specops Deploy Deployment Server Service the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) Service is running on the Server, WDS is automatically configured by the Deployment Server setup and is responsible to download the files needed to start the installation of operation systems. WDS also manages the Multicast component of the installation if the Deployment Server is running on a Windows Server 2008 or later. Multicast means that it is possible to install a large number of computers using s single file copy session (or up to three if running Server 2008 R2), regardless of the number of clients installed at the same time.

At least one Deployment Server is required per LAN since the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) that WDS supports by default does not pass routers. Although router hops can be configured, most of the times it can be performance issues when installing over slow WAN networks. There can be any number if Deployment Servers in a domain and they will all have the replica of everything that is published from the Image Server. All Deployment Servers will get their replica from the Image Server using DFSR replication, a very efficient replication technology built into Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

If the Deployment Server is installed on the same server as the Image Server, no replication takes place and as soon as the changes from the Image Server are published they can be used.

The Image Server must be installed on Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

.Net Framework 3.5.1 is required on the Deployment Servers.

Admin tools

The Specops Deploy /OS admin tools are installed on all computers from where the administrators need to control Specops Deploy /OS, but the actions are performed on the Image Server, so if for example new drivers are imported, the admin selects the folder from his/her computer where the admin tools are installed, but the actual drivers are copied to the Image Server and imported into the Deployment Repository.

.Net Framework 3.5.1 is required on the computers where the Admin tools are installed.

Client computers

The Client computers that Specops Deploy /OS will install or reinstall operating systems on have only one prerequisite and that is they need to have they need to be PXE boot enabled. This means that boot order set to boot from the network first and the computer Universally Unique Identifier (UUID or GUID) need to be known so that it can be added to the computer object in Active Directory.

To configure the clients to boot from the network the computers boot order need to be configured in BIOS. There is a chance that the computers are already configured for network boot when the computers are delivered from the manufacturer, but if this is not the case, Specops Deploy /OS Admin tools ship with a tool that can configure Dell, HP and Fuijutsu computers. This tool is described in further detail in a separate section.

Page last modified on February 10, 2010, at 10:21 PM